Arturo has three years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He earned his MA in International Relations from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, where he was awarded with the Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for Academic Excellence. He received a BA in International Relations from Tecnologico de Monterrey, where he graduated top of his class and received the highest honors for his performance in dramatic arts and social development projects. In 2013, he started LiberArte, a social development project that stimulates human expression in teenagers living in vulnerable communities through creative and artistic education. Arturo designed activities and imparted practical and theoretical courses for the program, as well as managing a group of volunteers. His project emphasizes on mentoring young people and giving them the opportunity to express their own personal story, their feelings, their daily hardships, and providing them with information regarding sexual health, drug addiction, violence, and professional orientation. He has volunteered in three different social development programs in Mexico, ranging from rural education strengthening, to community values communication in urban environments. In 2011, he received the “Best Student in a Social Development Program” award from the Institute for Sustainable Social Development at Tecnologico de Monterrey for his participation in a performance arts education program for people of all ages without any access to art sources, he later went on to coordinate this program himself. In the same year he also started and managed a social project, where volunteers implemented human rights education through artistic activities. In 2010, he conducted research and published a paper on the causes, effects and victims of unconventional gender violence in young adult couples in urban settings. Arturo is very passionate about innovative social education, making art a social right, building peaceful relations among conflicting groups, and fostering gender equality.
Host Organization: Kids’ Food Basket
Fellow Role at Kids’ Food Basket
Arturo will join Kids’ Food Basket (KFB) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He will represent KFB in the community and perform several outreach efforts to communicate what KFB is all about to distinct audiences and community sectors. He will also participate in the daily operation and the management of volunteer groups.